Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-06-22

In order to stimulate manufacturing
Industries here, those who have the
nerve to start new home manufacture
ought to be encouraged. The spirit of
will soon depart from any
place where it receives coldswelcome.
Many people reasoDivery shallowly about
their duty in this respect. They will
say to themselves that their custom does
not amount to much, and send abroad |
for articles they might secure here just |
as we'll, and perhaps just as cheaply. |
Take, for instance, the foundry business.
In the great industrial revival which has
made Los Angeles the wonder OF the
century, no kind of mandatory has
m ade greater strides than this. Yet we
are assured, that gratifying as has been
the progress Of this particular home in.
dussry, it might be made to flourish
to a much greater extent if all our
people would patrenize it exclu.
sively for the manufactures it
could as well slsupply as Eastern
foundries. We are assured that some of
our machine shops turn out as good a
pillow as any in use, and at prices tha
cannst be materially competed with by
Eastern shops. Yet nine.tenths of our
farmers are SO short-sighted as to give
their custom to the pillow made on the
other side of the Rockies. We cite this
merely as an instance Of the short-sight.
ed policy of large number of our peo-
pile. The same criticism applies to other
home industries. Some of these are
struggling against great odds and ought
to be patronizsd by our people, even if
they had to make slight sacrifice to do
so. Where we have one hundred
men now employed in home
manufactures, we would have
five hundred if a proper spirit OF local
patriotism animated all our people on
this subject. We are all of one mind as
to the beneficial policy of establishing
home manufactures here. No one
doubts that the successful operation Of
nail factory in Los Angeles would be
of great general advantage to the locality
as well as paying enterprise to those
who invest in it. Yet men who see
clearly the need of increasing our manu-
featuring industries. are not always
careful, when they want an article that
is made here, to give decided preference
to it. Some people have been in the
habit of using certain for
eign production, and cannot bring them
selves to believe that the same thins
produced at home is as good. Thus it il
with that large class of people who are
welded to certain brands of wines. They
will pay twice the price for foreign
brand that they would for home wine
and yet, in nine cases out of ten, they
are buying labels, instead of the win,
they think they are getting. We fint
in recent number of the Examiner al
interview with Mr.. w. 7. Garrett, {
we'll known San.... Francisco manufac-
J turer, in whichl he handles this subjec
very strikingly. He says.
"Some people fancy that the best ii
only obtainable abroad, and htvip.
plenty of money, they send abroad fol
everything they use, and even break vi
their homes to send their children Il
!. Europe for an education, and the poo
/. things often return more ignorant OF af
fairs than when they went away. Only
few days ago gentleman came to me
; ipquiring if l had a place in which
could pat his son where the lad nigh
! learn trade. my friend, said l, how
, often have l asked you to give me your
trade, instead of sending East for what
you require in my liner His reply was,
/ %, my requirements are very limited,
and in q whole year would not amount
to any perceptible increase in your in
come THAT is not the point,
responded. Your patronage
would keep one of my men en-
ployed for thirty days. Eleven more
like you would keep him at work al
the year round, but since you Will mo-
see it in that light, why, send your boy
East to learn trade, and I'll take il
boy whose father feels more like en-
couraging home industries. OF course
my friend was little hart, but in his
heart he must acknowledge the force
and justice of my argument. The fac
is. that if all the people had done what
seems to me to be their obvious duty in
this matter, during the past ten years.
} our manufactures would to-day bt
three or four times their present size.
Think, for moment, what that means
Here I employ 250 men when l should
be able to give steady work to 700 or
1000 men. Take every manufacturing
establishment in the city and increase il
in this proportion and you will then see
how many more comfortable homes there
would be; how property would increase
in value, and how every trade and call